Lichens as a Natural Source of Compounds Active on Microorganisms of Human Health Interest

Featured Application Natural compound extracts from lichens were able to decrease and/or inhibit the growth of microorganisms of interest in human health, thus providing a good alternative alone or in combination with drugs for therapy. The antimicrobial properties of two lichen extracts (LC1 and LC2 solutions extracted in acetone and cyclohexane, respectively) were investigated against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative microorganisms through the agar well diffusion assay. Results displayed that both samples were similarly effective against all the indicator strains. The antimicrobial activity was maintained up to 30 days against Candida albicans ATCC 10231 with an inhibition zone of 38 mm and 37 mm for the LC1 and LC2 solutions extracted, respectively. In order to separate the single chemical components and to associate them with the biological activity, the two extracts were subjected to an activity-guided fractionation followed by a liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) Ion Trap 6310A for the chemical characterization. Chromatogram analysis of each sample that maintained an antimicrobial activity revealed the presence of a significant peak, at a retention time (t(R)) of 10.8 min, corresponding to a scabrosin derivative that could likely be associated with the antimicrobial activity. Results obtained in the present investigation, especially against the opportunistic pathogen C. albicans, are encouraging and could represent a preliminary step to a future solution toward a microorganism responsible for fungal infections, mainly occurring in immunocompromised patients and recently caused by drug-resistant strains.